In the 9th episode of MBC's Friday-Saturday drama 'Judge Lee Han Young' (directed by Lee Jae-jin, Park Mi-yeon/written by Kim Kwang-min), aired on the night of the 30th at 9:50 PM, Lee Han Young (played by Ji Sung) exposes the true nature of Senior Judge Kang Shin-jin (played by Park Hee-soon) and embarks on a mission to dismantle the forces that imprisoned his father.
In this episode, Lee Han Young reveals his plan to expose the hiring corruption of Supreme Court Justice Hwang Nam-yong (played by Kim Myung-soo) to Song Na-yeon (played by Baek Jin-hee), unveiling the sordid sentence bargaining between Hwang Nam-yong and Jang Tae-sik (played by Kim Beop-rae). He then meets Yoo Sun-chul (played by Ahn Nae-sang), proposing to make Baek Yi-seok (played by Kim Tae-woo) the Chief Justice, appealing to Yoo Sun-chul's greed. Lee Han Young persuades him by saying this is the only chance to hunt Baek Yi-seok and asks for a presidential recommendation. Yoo Sun-chul, driven by ambition, eventually sides with Lee Han Young.
Lee Han Young also strategically uses his past relationship with Yoo Se-hee (played by Oh Se-young), his wife in a previous life. Although Yoo Se-hee breaks up with him, saying marriage would make him a servant to Haenal Law Firm, Lee Han Young promises to give her control of the firm, asking her to trust him. Through a monologue, Lee Han Young reveals his hope that Yoo Se-hee will choose a different path in this life. Later, Lee Han Young confronts Baek Yi-seok, warning that if Hwang Nam-yong becomes Chief Justice, judicial corruption will persist, pressuring him to accept the nomination. Baek Yi-seok is shocked to discover the secret connection between Haenal Law Firm and Kang Shin-jin through documents provided by Lee Han Young.
The formation of a 'dream team' to capture Kang Shin-jin also gains momentum. Lee Han Young reveals to Kim Jin-ah (played by Won Jin-ah) that Kang Shin-jin is the ultimate villain and proposes collaboration, even bringing Prosecutor Park Chul-woo (played by Hwang Hee) into his plan. Lee Han Young intensifies the pressure by orchestrating an elaborate investment scam against Kang Shin-jin's subordinate, Lee Sung-dae (played by Jo Sang-ki). Lee Sung-dae, caught in a trap set by Park Chul-woo and Seok Jung-ho (played by Tae Won-seok), loses 400 million won in investments and is cornered, leading him to make a risky decision to invest Hwang Nam-yong's donation into Lee Han Young's overseas coin investment scheme.
Towards the end of the episode, Lee Han Young learns through Song Na-yeon that former President Park Kwang-to (played by Son Byung-ho) is behind Kang Shin-jin, uncovering a sinister force he was unaware of in his past life. However, Lee Han Young's fake investment company 'Miracle Asia' faces a crisis as it is about to be raided by prosecutors. To buy time, Lee Han Young and Kim Jin-ah deliberately cause a car accident to block the prosecutors' entry, and just as Seok Jung-ho attempts to recover a large sum from Lee Sung-dae, investigators arrive, heightening the tension to its peak.
Reporter Chaeryeong Lim, TenAsia syjj426@tenasia.co.kr